Live-Action SONIC THE HEDGEHOG Is… Furry?

Live-action reproductions of iconic characters, franchises and films are a side effect of reboot culture that truly no one asked for. While live-action reboots starring humans are decidedly less weird than the ones starring animals, the bizarre nightmare of Pokémon: Detective Pikachu has us questioning whether or not we want to invest in any live-action films at all, if it means studios are going to keep shelling out big dollars to produce them.

The latest in live-action horrors is the first look at the Sonic the Hedgehog movie, which came on Monday in the form of an exclusive poster reveal from IGN.

Sonic fans may have some questions about this iteration, namely: why is he covered in fur? Real hedgehogs, after all, only have furry bellies and are otherwise covered in small spikes. Obviously, Sonic has never been drawn in a similar fashion to his real-life counterparts, but the fur is still off-putting.

In an interview with IGN, executive producer Tim Miller said, “That was always Stage 1 of adapting it to what the real world is and what a real animal would be like. It would be weird and it would feel like he was running around nude if he was some sort of otter-like thing. It was always, for us, fur, and we never considered anything different. It’s part of what integrates him into the real world and makes him a real creature.”

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Meanwhile, Sonic’s new kicks in the live-action film are meant to modernize his always-iconic footwear. “We looked at every different variation of what shoes he’s worn and we’re trying to pay homage to that and also make it current and present day in what we think a Sonic of today would wear,” producer Neal Moritz told IGN.

Only Sonic’s silhouette is visible in the poster, so we have no idea how his face looks or how he moves. Whenever we get a trailer for this film, it’s sure to answer those questions, even if we aren’t entirely certain we want the answers.

Samantha Puc is an essayist and culture critic whose work has been featured on Bitch Media, them., The Beat, The Mary Sue, and elsewhere. She mostly writes intersectional pop culture analysis with a particular focus on representation of LGBTQ and fat characters in fiction. Samantha is the co-creator and editor-in-chief of Fatventure Mag, an outdoors zine for fat folx who are into being active, but not into toxic weight-loss culture. She lives in Montana with her partner and cats.